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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Zoning Board of Adjustment Minutes 4-25-2007MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT AMES, IOWA APRIL 25, 2007 The Ames Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) met, pursuant to law, in regular session at 7:00 p.m. on April 25, 2007, in the Council Chambers of City Hall with the following members present: Denise Link, Lucy Martin, Bradley Miller, and Thomas Weber. Mary Ann Lundy was excused. Staff members Judy Parks, Seana Perkins, Dominic Roberge and Steve Osguthorpe were also present. ELECTION OF OFFICERS: Motion by Martin, second by Link, to nominate Bradley Miller for the office of chair of the Zoning Board of Adjustment. Nomination accepted. Vote on Motion: 4-0. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Link, second by Martin to elect Bradley Miller as chair of the Zoning Board of Adjustment. Vote on Motion: 4-0. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Martin, second by Miller, to nominate Denise Link to serve as vice -chair of the Zoning Board of Adjustment. Nomination accepted. Vote on Motion: 4-0. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Martin, second by Miller, to elect Denise Link as vice chair of the Zoning Board of Adjustment. Vote on Motion: 4-0. Motion carried unanimously. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Moved by Link, seconded by Martin, to approve the minutes of the meeting of March 14, 2007. Vote on Motion: 4-0. Motion carried unanimously. CASE NO. 07-07 SPECIAL USE PERMIT – COLLEGIATE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, PROPERTY OWNER; ARCHITECTS SCHIPPER KASTNER, APPLICANTS; DAVID BLUM, REPRESENTATIVE, 2622 LINCOLN WAY Public Hearing on application for a Special Use Permit to allow the expansion of a religious institution in a commercial zone at 2622 Lincoln Way Planner Perkins stated that the requested permit would allow the construction of an 8,346-square-foot addition to the existing Collegiate United Methodist Church. She noted that two variances (pertaining to floor area ratio requirements and building materials) were approved by the Zoning Board for this project a few months ago. Perkins explained that the addition would connect two wings on the north side of the building and also create an interior courtyard. The addition involves three levels, with one level below ground, so the new part of the building will be consistent in height with the existing structure. 2 Perkins stated that Planning and Housing Department staff recommends approval of the request; the Planning and Housing Commission did likewise at its meeting on April 18. Dave Blum, Architects Shipper Kastner, stated that construction is expected to begin this spring and the project should be completed sometime next year. Moved by Link, seconded by Martin to ADOPT ORDER 07-07 granting a Special Use Permit to allow the expansion of a religious institution in a commercial zone at 2622 Lincoln Way Roll Call Vote: 4-0. Motion carried unanimously. CASE NO. 07-09 SPECIAL HOME OCCUPATION PERMIT – SHELDAHL PARTNERS COOPERATIVE, PROPERTY OWNER; THERETHIA PACKER, TENANT & APPLICANT, 1225 DELAWARE AVENUE, APT. 8 Public Hearing on application for a Special Home Occupation Permit to allow the operation of a family home day care at 1225 Delaware Avenue, Apt. 8 Planner Roberge stated that this application is for a family home day care in a 12-plex apartment building located in a residential high-density (RH) zone. The apartment itself is about 1000 square feet in size and the day care would occupy approximately ten percent of the floor area. Photos of the residence were presented. Mr. Roberge explained that the applicant would like to operate the business from 9:00 a.m till 2:30 p.m. and from 3:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on weekdays, as she has clients who work late and need this kind of service. The application indicates that she will care for three children, ages one and two, in the morning and two children, ages five and six, in the afternoon. The applicant already has certification from the State of Iowa, but had been unaware that she needed a Special Home Occupation Permit from the City. Mr. Roberge discussed some of the sections of the Ames Municipal Code that apply to this request, noting that noise from kids in day care settings is expected and allowed. Nevertheless, he said that if the Board chooses to grant this permit, staff would recommend that the superintendent of the building be required to submit a letter within six months reporting any complaints about noise so that the case could be reviewed, if necessary. Mr. Roberge also expressed staff’s concern that about confining the children to one ten-foot-by-ten-foot room. He said that 100 square feet seemed a rather small area in which to operate this business. Planning staff determined that all other standards for approval were met: there will be no sign advertising the business; the day care should not disturb the characteristics of the area; no special equipment is required; there will be no other employees and no other home occupations in the apartment. Staff does not believe that the volume of traffic will be disruptive. He said that some children are dropped off in the morning and picked up at 2:30; another drop-off occurs at 3:00 p.m. with pick-up at 10:00 p.m. Some of the families use the transit system and do not 3 bring their children in cars; however, the applicant has been assigned one garage stall and one uncovered off-street parking stall. She uses the garage for her own vehicle, so the uncovered stall may be used by her customers. Mr. Roberge said that there are four other outside stalls, in addition to the applicant’s, but since they are all available on a first-come, first-served basis, staff recommends that a sign be installed to designate the applicant’s outside stall for use by customers of the day care. Roberge said this is the first time a request of this nature has been received for an RH zoning district. Because staff is concerned about lack of space for the children and the possible impact of noise on other residents of the building, they recommended that the application be denied. He added that if the board determines it should be approved, a variety of stipulations that would address potential problems are recommended. There was discussion about the space available for use by the home occupation and Mr. Roberge explained that the Code allows up to 25% of the dwelling to be used, but the applicant only requested ten percent. Board member Link inquired if the State had any area requirements and Mr. Osguthorpe responded that the State only reviews the homes to ensure the health and safety of the children. The Board questioned why staff would recommend limiting the area used by the day care to only ten percent of the living space, if there is already a concern about the area being too small. Mr. Osguthorpe said that staff was suggesting conditions that would serve the stated needs of the applicant and also mitigate staff’s concerns about having a daycare operation in a multi-family building. He pointed out that Ms. Packer now intends to have only two or three children in her care at one time, but the Code does allows her to watch up to five children. The stipulations proposed by staff would restrict the operation from evolving into one in which five children were present in a 100-square-foot area all day and up until 10 p.m. Board Member Weber said that he had looked at regulations in the State of Delaware, which sets the standard of 35 square feet per student, but implies that there would also be an outside play area. He suggested that the 255-square-foot living room might be a preferable space for the day care, even if the area used would slightly exceed 25% of the total area of the apartment. Therethia Packer, 1225 Delaware Avenue, Apt. 8, stated that she started operating the business before she realized she needed a permit and has had children in her care for about five months. Of the three children who come in the morning, one is only there an hour and a half and the other two are toddlers. She said there is no problem with noise – most of the residents of the building are college students and they have not said anything about a noise problem. Ms. Packer went on to say that she uses the smaller room for the children because that’s where she keeps the toys and she hasn’t found that she needs more room. She was also told that her kitchen and bathroom, in addition to the play area, would have to be counted as part of the space used for the business. 4 Link inquired as to whether the hours would need to be changed later. Ms. Packer stated that she likes the time broken up so that the younger children leave before the older ones arrive. Sometimes they go out to the church or the park and they lie down at about 8:30 in the evening until their father picks them up. Ms. Packer said she had not yet talked to the building owner about getting a sign for the parking stall, but had no objections to the other stipulations. Assistant City Attorney Parks stated that tenants have obtained permits for home occupations such as this in the past. The permit is tied to a specific applicant and premises; therefore, if an applicant moves, she has to apply for another permit at the new location, and no future tenant of this apartment would be entitled to use Ms. Packer’s permit. During discussion of the issues, a member of the audience stated that Iowa requires family home day cares to provide 35 square feet per child over two years of age and 25 square feet per infant. Mr. Osguthorpe said that, in phone conversations with the applicant, there was discussion about the need for the children to go to the bathroom and use the kitchen, so including those rooms as part of the business seemed to make sense. Ms. Parks pointed out that this Board has not normally included kitchens or bathrooms in the square footage for home occupations because the use of those rooms is incidental. Clients with most other types of Special Home Occupations don’t include those rooms, either. Moved by Martin, seconded by Link, to ADOPT ORDER 07-09 granting a Special Home Occupation permit to allow a family home day care at 1225 Delaware Avenue, Apartment 8, subject to the following conditions: 1. That a letter of compliance be submitted by the landlord within six months of the approval date of the permit, and should the letter report that complaints have been received from other residents of the building, the applicant shall reapply so that the Zoning Board may revisit the case; 2. That no more than 25 percent of the residence be used for the home day care; 3. That the hours of operation be limited to Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and from 3:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. 4. That the number of children be limited to three in the morning and two in the afternoon; 5. That the on-site outdoor parking spot be signed and reserved for the sole use of the day care in Apartment #8; 6. That the clients of this day care operation use the outdoor parking spot for drop-off and pick-up of the children. Roll Call Vote: 4-0. Motion carried unanimously. 5 CASE NO. 07-08 SPECIAL HOME OCCUPATION PERMIT – STEPHANIE IMHOFF, PROPERTY OWNER & APPLICANT, 1467 TRUMAN PLACE Public Hearing on application for a Special Home Occupation Permit to allow the operation of a family home day care at 1467 Truman Place. Planner Perkins stated that this Home Occupation Permit pertains to a two-story town house with an attached garage. The applicant is already licensed by the State of Iowa and has obtained the approval of her homeowner’s association, but was operating the business without being aware that she needed a permit from the City. She said that staff believes the criteria for approval are met and recommends approval with one stipulation related to the hours of operation that were requested by the applicant. Stephanie Imhoff, 1467 Truman Place, said that she had misunderstood the regulations. She said that she had to obtain day care insurance and comply with different floor area restrictions in order to satisfy the Homeowners Association, and since the Homeowner’s Association actually has more strict regulations than the City of Ames, she had thought that obtaining their approval was all that was necessary. Ms. Imhoff stated that she has operated the business for almost five years and there have been no complaints in that time. She takes the children to the park when weather permits and they do not create much noise. Bob Mickle, 1417 Truman Place, stated that he was the manager of Briardale Square. He explained that there are various covenants and by-laws that regulate activities of residents living in the complex. Other day cares have operated there in the past and the operator’s state certification is kept on file; he has never received any complaints or been advised of any problems. He said the Boards of Directors were surprised to see the Zoning Action Pending sign that was posted in advance of this hearing and asked if the Association had been doing something wrong. Board member Link explained the that the sign did not imply that anything was done wrong, but that Zoning Board of Adjustment approval is required for certain types of home occupations and the neighbors need to be notified of the hearing. Ms. Imhoff suggested that there should be information in the packet from the Department of Human Services advising applicants that zoning applications are required for the City. She said the State’s registration process needs to be started about three months before the business opens, and most people just don’t realize they need a permit from the City. Attorney Parks said she would look into that possibility. Moved by Link, seconded by Martin to ADOPT ORDER 07-08 granting a Special Home Occupation permit to allow a family home day care at 1467 Truman Place, with the stipulation that the operation be limited to Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. during the school year, and from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. during the summer. Roll Call Vote: 4-0. Motion carried unanimously. COMMENTS: The Board welcomed Mr. Weber to membership on the Board. 6 ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 8:07 p.m. Karen C. Thompson, Recording Secretary Bradley Miller, Chair The next meeting of the Zoning Board of Adjustment will be a Regular Meeting at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 9, 2007, in the Council Chambers of the Ames City Hall at 515 Clark Avenue.